When comparing cultures it would be difficult to find two that are more diverse than the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures. The Mesopotamian culture was filled with tension and instability while the Egyptian people maintained a stable and somewhat more content way of life. In examining these two cultures one can surmise that these differences are mainly due to the political, economic, social, religious, and geographic differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia. These factors added to the overall mentality of the people. These mentalities affected the stability of each culture, whether for the better or worse.
Geographic differences between these two countries were a major factor in determining stability. Mesopotamia rose out of a largely unorganized world c.c. ten thousand B.C. As birthplace of civilization, Mesopotamians had to deduce the best way to become civilized without example or instruction. The first step towards civilization was the transition to hunters and gatherers. Mesopotamians established farms with domesticated animals and seeds of barley and wheat. The fertile-crescent, which rested between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, became the cradle of this young organized civilization. The fertile-crescent didn’t always have enough water to sustain crops. Weather was unpredictable, and the rivers didn’t always produce enough water to irrigate the crops. Alternately, the rivers could flood without any notice causing severe hardships on the people. These calamities were due to the amount of rain or snow fall to the North and South. This precarious way of life contributed greatly to the unstable mentality and economic hardships of the Mesopotamians. A short time after Mesopotamia was form, Egypt began to rise out of th...
... middle of paper ...
... 2008) 11.
Hymns to the Pharaoh’s was written for Ramesses IV c. 1166 B.C. This can be found Ibid.
This paragraph was mainly derived from information in the textbook
Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia, Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures: 3rd Edition, Volume I.(Boston, New York 2009) 9-10
The previous three sentences were mostly derived from information in the textbook
Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, R. Po-chia Hsia, Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures: 3rd Edition, Volume I.(Boston, New York 2009) 7
This quote was taken from an assessment of the Code of Hammurabi, which was the law in ancient Mesopotamia:
Marvin Perry, Sources of the Western Tradition: From Ancient Times to the Enlightenment, 8th Edition, Volume I. (Baruch College, 2008)7
Clifford R. Backman, The Cultures of the West: A History. Volume 1: To 1750. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Coffin, Judith G, et al. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 17th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2011. Print.
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt are a factor of the evolution of civilizations in present-day. Though, it wouldn’t occur if both of these ancient civilizations didn’t develop into successful ones. There are three similar components that led Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia to become prosperous. These are the locations, their way of life, and their beliefs. All of these elements will be explored more thoroughly throughout this essay.
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two of the world’s earliest city-based civilizations, creating the basis for Middle Eastern and Western history. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations existed on the banks of major rivers. While Egyptian civilization thrived along the Nile, Mesopotamia settled between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although they shared this characteristic, it was also the cause of many of their differences in political systems, religions, and social stability.
Although the kings of both lands were closely tied to religious institutions they had very different responsibilities to their people because of the culture of their location. The major point that differentiates Mesopotamia and Egypt is their location. The fact that Egypt was located in the most productive area of ancient times caused Egyptian pharaohs to focus more on their internal concerns, rather than gain new territories. The idea of Ma’at played a big role in the way of the pharaohs ruling over Egypt. Instead of expanding, they were more worried about having harmony and peace within the people, and keeping the balance of ma’at.
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
Wilkie, Brian, and James Hurt, ed. Literature of the Western World Volume 1. 5th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2001.
Mesopotamia’s climate consisted of temperatures rising from 110 to 120°F in the summer. This led to many dry days that eventually led to a severe drought. Basically, there was little to no rainfall from the months of May until October. This led to the devastation of agriculture. Not only did the Sumerians have to deal with the effects of the droughts, they had to deal with the consequences of flooding as well. The Tigris and the Euphrates surrounded Mesopotamia thus when it would overflow more devastation would occur such as the washouts of embankments. (Hause, 2001, pg. 7)
Cole, Joshua. Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture. 3rd Ed. 2. W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. Print.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Cole, Joshua, Judith G. Coffin, Carol Symes, and Robert Stacey. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. Brief Third ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print.
Hsia, R. Po-Chia, Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, and Bonnie G. Smith. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Volume II: Since 1500. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008.
The Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion and society were similar, but their government/leadership was different. Religion in Egypt and Mesopotamia were very similar because both faiths were polytheistic and had priestly authority. Both cultures had powerful priests, both had a belief of an afterlife, and religion was part of their daily lives. Both societies had similar rigid social classes, relied on slavery; both also had a religion which played an important role in their daily lives. Although, their societies were very common, they still had some differences in government. The Egypt, the government was a theocracy, whereas the government in Mesopotamia was run by a monarchy. Despite their similarities, the differences between these two civilizations were most likely a result of unique geographical and topographical conditions.
Perry, Marvin, et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society. 4th ed. Vol. I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. 8th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.